Karen’s Diner to close final UK restaurant

The last Karen’s Diner restaurant in the UK is to close at the end of June after two years of trading.

The site on White Lion Street in London’s Islington was run under franchise and a decision not to renew its lease was made earlier this year.

Karen’s restaurants became known for their deliberately rude waiters, with clips of them insulting customers racking up millions of views on TikTok.

An announcement from Karen’s said the group had “enjoyed being rude to thousands of its customers” but the closure of its final London site was due to “the additional burden” of an increase in fixed costs, including business rates.

It comes after the parent company behind Karen’s Diner, Viral Ventures UK Ltd, entered liquidation last year.

A statement from the franchise owner said: “People don’t understand how hard it is to run both a restaurant and a theatre simultaneously, especially in such fierce trading conditions.”

A spokesperson for the Karen’s Diner brand added: “We want to thank the restaurant manager and all of his team for all of their hard work delivering great entertainment night after night."

Karen’s Diner was launched in Sydney, Australia in 2021 by themed events business Viral Ventures Global and opened its first UK restaurants in Sheffield, Manchester and Birmingham in 2022.

It continued its rapid expansion into 2023, with launches in London’s Islington, Barnet and Brighton.

The Brighton outpost closed in March last year after police found traces of cocaine in the toilets, including on a baby changing table.

Karen’s Diner in Dublin looks to be the brand’s sole remaining restaurant in the UK or Ireland.

Karen’s said it had moved away from bricks-and-mortar venues to focus on creating pop-up events and is currently looking for venues in the south of England.